2253 Oak Street, Jacksonville, Florida. My best guess would date the building back to the mid-1920's. It is located on a commercial stretch of Oak Street, with residential buildings and single-family homes in close proximity. This pleasant building features a curious mix of Tudor-revival and Mediterranean-revival styles.
Quoins surround the entrance to the upstairs apartments; a cast-stone shield and the inscribed address hover above the door which is shaded by a steeply pitched barrel tile roof.
The "A" on the shield no doubt refers to the building's original name, but I have not been able to find any information on the name or the architect
Store-fronts are reminiscent of another era, but these are retail establishments of the new century.
Signage in this laundry helps reinforce the vintage feel of the building...
Upstairs, apartments feature balconies. Exposed "timbers" reinforce the Tudor-revival style while the green barrel tiles are more in keeping with the neighborhood's many Mediterranean-revival buildings.
This balcony is one side of the building; there's no overhang, but an awning does the trick.
Wrought-iron railings help set off the balconies.
Behind the building, tenants find parking space in the ruins of a one-time garage.
Mother nature is only too happy to take over what's left of the structure...
Here's a bonus. I found this beautiful staghorn perched on a wall on the side of the building. I've got a smaller staghorn I brought to Atlanta when we moved up here from Miami. I've managed to keep it alive by bringing it into the basement every winter. Once the weather warms up I take it back outdoors. This annual moving no doubt prevents my staghorn from getting this large...but keeps it a manageable size!
Now back to our featured building...
2253 Oak Street may very well be the work of one of Jacksonville's premier architects (or teams) from the 1920's. There are commercial buildings nearby by Mark & Sheftall and Marsh & Saxelbye.
No comments:
Post a Comment